2025-01-19 13:49:19The office door was still slightly ajar as Celeste Stratton’s footsteps echoed further down the hall. Damien Harlow took a deep breath, bracing himself. Even as he leaned back in his wheelchair, it felt like he was carrying the weight of the world. His gray eyes stared blankly at the door, though his mind was a storm of questions and guilt.
Before Celeste could fully leave, Damien pushed the wheels of his chair forward with enough force to make his wrists strain. He managed to get to the doorway and reached out to gently grab her arm. His touch was soft but firm enough to stop her.
“Wait,” he said quietly.
Celeste turned around slowly. Her eyes burned with frustration, tinged with a flicker of hidden hope beneath her cold expression. Her gaze was sharp, but Damien knew just how fragile she was behind that facade.
“If you’re going to stop me, then give me a real reason. I don’t have time for riddles, Damien,” she said flatly, though her voice trembled with emotion.
Damien looked deep into her eyes, searching for the right words. He knew that any half-hearted explanation would only make things worse. Yet at the same time, he couldn’t give her the full truth she was demanding. It wasn’t because he didn’t trust her—but because the secrets he carried went far beyond just him.
“I… I can’t explain everything right now,” Damien finally said. His voice was low and heavy with regret. “But trust me, Celeste. Knowing too much will only put you in danger.”
Celeste let out a small, bitter laugh. It wasn’t the kind of laugh filled with joy—it was sharp, laced with wounds she’d buried for too long. Damien’s words only reinforced the doubts she’d carried about him for years.
“Danger?” she said with a scoff. “Damien, I’ve spent three years living through humiliation from my family, facing ridicule from society, and hearing rumors that my husband uses my money to support a mistress. What’s more dangerous than that? I feel like a fool, Damien. Like a woman who willingly let herself be played.”
Damien flinched at her words. He instinctively reached out to her again, but Celeste stepped back, putting space between them. She looked at him like she wanted to be as far away from him as possible.
Celeste covered her face with her hands, her shoulders shaking. She was crying—not tears of sadness, but tears of exhaustion and frustration.
“Celeste…” Damien called out softly. He tried to move closer, but she raised a hand to stop him.
“Don’t call me that,” she said, her voice still trembling. “You don’t deserve to call me your wife. What kind of husband only drags his wife down? I need someone I can rely on, Damien. Someone who can be my hero—not someone who just adds to my burdens. You…” Her voice broke. She didn’t even want to finish.
Damien fell silent. Her words hit him like a blade straight to his heart. But he knew she wasn’t trying to hurt him—they were the cold, hard truth he’d avoided for so long.
As he sat there, staring at her, he felt every bit of his own inadequacy. He already hated himself for being a disabled man who couldn’t do much for his wife. But hearing those vile rumors—that he was a cheater, a parasite living off her wealth—made him loathe his current existence even more.
Celeste wiped her tears with the back of her hand, trying to pull herself together. She reached into a small pocket on her silk dress and pulled out a small object. It gleamed under the light—a simple silver necklace with a round pendant. She held it tightly, as if it held a meaning far deeper than just a piece of jewelry.
“Do you know what this is?” she asked, holding the necklace up in front of Damien.
He frowned slightly but stayed silent.
“This is the only reminder I have of someone who saved my life on the battlefield,” Celeste said, her voice quieter now but still charged with emotion. “Three years ago, I went to the border to deliver aid. There was an unexpected attack, and I got trapped. I almost died… until someone came. He protected me, made sure I got out alive, and then disappeared without a trace. The only thing he left behind was this necklace.”
Damien stared at the pendant, his gray eyes darkening. Something stirred deep within him, like a puzzle piece slipping into place. But he said nothing.
Celeste’s voice wavered as she continued. “I don’t know who he was, but I know one thing: he was a true hero. That’s the kind of person I should’ve married. Not… not you, Damien.”
Her words hit like a final blow in a long, drawn-out battle. Celeste didn’t realize that each sentence was cutting into Damien deeper than she could’ve imagined. He lowered his head, his jaw tightening as he tried to keep his emotions in check.
But as Damien looked back up, his eyes landed on the necklace again. Its simple design suddenly felt all too familiar. Memories of a battle three years ago flooded his mind.
He remembered leading his troops in a decisive fight as a war commander. In the chaos, he’d found a young woman injured and trapped under debris. Without hesitation, he protected her, sacrificing so much to make sure she survived.
He couldn’t recall much of her face, but he remembered the necklace. It was just like this one. Yet, in the heat of battle, his own identical necklace had gone missing.
Damien took a deep breath, trying to organize his whirlwind of thoughts. This necklace… could it be? Could the woman he saved back then have been Celeste? Did she find and keep my necklace?
That battle had left Damien crippled, taking away his ability to fight and leaving him with nothing but scars and regret. But now, staring at his wife, he felt a spark of something he hadn’t felt in years.
Celeste still clutched the necklace, her eyes full of despair and pain. Damien wanted to speak, to say something—anything—but the truth he’d just uncovered was so overwhelming, it left him speechless.
Celeste let out a heavy sigh, lowering the necklace. She looked at Damien one last time before saying, “Damien, I really want to believe you’re more than what I see now. But if you can’t prove that, I don’t know how we can keep going.”
Damien knew, right then, that things had to change. And this time, he wasn’t going to give up without a fight.
Suddenly, Damien stood up from his wheelchair, reaching for his wife. The movement made Celeste freeze, her eyes wide in shock. For a moment, she thought she was witnessing a miracle.
“I will prove it! I will make sure you never regret marrying me. Because I...”
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The room was eerily quiet, as if soaking up all the tension in the air. Damien tried to stand, reaching out to hug a distraught Celeste. For a fleeting moment, Celeste thought a miracle had entered their lives—but then Damien collapsed from his wheelchair onto the floor with a thud that was both painful and humiliating.Lying there, Damien didn’t move. Pain coursed through his body, but it was nothing compared to the ache in his heart. Celeste stood a few steps away, her expression unreadable—a mix of anger, despair, and emotional exhaustion.“Damien,” Celeste finally broke the silence, her voice cold and laced with bitterness. “What exactly are you trying to prove? You can’t even stand on your own, yet here you are, still trying. Do you seriously think I’ll keep waiting for you to fight a losing battle?”Damien looked up, meeting her sharp gaze. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out.Celeste sighed deeply, stepping closer with an envelope in hand. She’d just retrieved i
The Supreme Power Behind a Wheelchair Chapter 4: The Struggle to Rise Again
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The Supreme Power Behind a Wheelchair Chapter 6: If I Can’t Be Your Legs, Then I’ll Be Your Hands
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Adrian swung his fist in a fit of rage, but Damien moved with surprising speed. Even in a wheelchair, his movements were precise. With a quick motion, he caught Adrian's wrist before the punch could land on his face.The grip was so strong it sounded like something cracked. Adrian screamed in pain, his piercing cry echoing through the room and freezing everyone in the Stratton family. “Aaaah!” he yelled, clutching at Damien's hand, trying to break free.Damien stared at Adrian with cold, unwavering eyes. The tense atmosphere in the room shifted into a suffocating silence, broken only by Adrian’s ragged breaths and the faint creak of Damien’s wheelchair moving slightly forward. Still holding Adrian’s wrist, Damien spoke, his voice low but cutting through the air like a blade.“Celeste is my wife,” he said firmly, directing his gaze to everyone in the room, who looked on in shock. “From now on, no one is allowed to mess with her. Consider this your warning.”With that, Damien released A
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But George and Eleanor went silent. Bitter. Damien didn’t react. He just lowered his head. Accepting.“Because I honestly thought he was cheating on me,” Celeste continued, her voice shaky. “And using my money to party with some other woman.”A few distant cousins held their breath. Damien still said nothing. A faint crease formed on his forehead.“But…” Celeste turned to her husband, her eyes glossy, “he asked for time. Time to prove the accusations were false.”“With instant wealth?” Adrian cut in for the first time that night. “Doesn’t that just prove he’s hiding something way bigger?”Margareth slammed her hand on the table. “If his wealth is legal, then why the hell did he drain all your savings in the beginning, Celeste?!”Celeste didn’t answer her grandma. She just looked at Damien again. She didn’t know either—he’d never told her. Not until now.“This is your chance, Damien. My decision depends entirely on your honesty. What exactly have you been doing for the past three years
Chapter 61: A Dinner Gone Wrong
[You can’t judge someone just by what they show on the outside. Tonight, masks will fall, one by one.]As the main course was served, the room filled with chatter. But each word carried a subtle sting.“I heard you started a new company with your dad, Celeste?” Uncle Theo asked casually.Celeste smiled politely. “Yes, Damien and I are working on it with my father.”“Impressive. Damien seems pretty influential now, huh? Funny, last time we had dinner...”“Just a poor, useless son-in-law. Remember his parting words that night? So ridiculous!” one of Celeste’s aunts chimed in. “He said he’d stand by Celeste no matter what. Wow... guess what? He actually did, in less than a year!”Damien cut in smoothly, “I’ll take that as a compliment. I just support whatever Celeste decides. She’s the one in charge.”The room stiffened. Jealous looks were thrown their way. Then one of Celeste’s cousins muttered, “Still can’t even stand on his own though. What’s all that money for? No one knows where it
Chapter 60: Time to Divorce, Isn’t It?
After Margareth met Eleanor, she was surprised to see Adrian waiting excitedly at home. He looked at his grandma with hopeful eyes.“Did you agree to help? Have you asked Celeste to divorce Damien, Grandma?” he asked anxiously.Margareth paused, stunned by his question. “Why are you so shameless? Why should I be the one to fix your mess? Huh, you foolish boy! You’re the one who picked Damien for Celeste to marry, weren’t you?” Her tone held disbelief—maybe even a bit of anger.Adrian sighed, clearly regretting his past decision. “I did pick him, Grandma. But only because I thought he was a poor nobody with no background—and crippled too! I didn’t want Celeste to have the power to compete with me in building the company. I wanted to make sure she’d never be able to inherit Stratton Enterprises.”Margareth shook her head, annoyed by her grandson’s short-sightedness. “So why do you want them divorced now?”Adrian rubbed his face, frustrated. “Damien’s not who we thought he was. I don’t k
Chapter 59: Grandma’s Tough Request
Eleanor had just finished working out when her phone buzzed on the kitchen table. She wiped the sweat off her temple, took a sip of water, and glanced at the screen. A message had come in—from Margareth Stratton, her mother-in-law.Her heart sank. Margareth never contacted her unless it was urgent. Honestly, they were never close. Eleanor knew very well Margareth never liked her. As George’s second wife, she was always the outsider in the Stratton family. But this message was clear: Margareth wanted to meet.Without overthinking it, Eleanor jumped into the shower and got ready. She even made a quick stop at a specialty store to buy Margareth’s favorite herbal drink—hoping it might soften her mood a bit. Still, nerves kept bubbling up the whole drive to the fancy restaurant where they were meeting.“Why does she suddenly want to meet? Did we mess up again in her eyes?” Eleanor nervously picked at her nails, a habit when she was anxious.Margareth was already waiting in a private room a
Chapter 58: Whining Like a Baby
Celeste waited, her body shaking. The meeting room at the end of the hallway felt like a bottomless pit that could swallow everything whole. Damien had taken Adam Saxon in there, and ever since, time seemed to crawl. No sounds, no signs. Just suffocating silence.Her eyes were locked on the tightly shut door. Her hands were clenched into fists, trying to hold back the storm of anxiety in her chest. Nobody knew what kind of deal was going on in there. Could Damien really help them out of this mess?Footsteps echoed down the hall. Celeste turned and saw her father, George, walking toward her, looking just as worried. He’d locked himself in his office all morning, calling old connections, begging anyone who might still care. But it was all useless. No one wanted to help. Twice he nearly went bankrupt, and both times he was betrayed by the people he once called friends.But that wasn’t what George came to tell her. There was something more important.“Celeste,” his voice was heavy. “I nee
Chapter 57: Give Them a Souvenir
The closed meeting room was dimly lit by a chandelier, casting long shadows across the walls. The air was thick with tension, making the atmosphere even more suffocating. Adam Saxon stared at Damien in utter disbelief."You... Why did you hide it all this time? You can walk!" Adam's voice caught in his throat, his eyes widening as he watched Damien stand tall before him.Damien looked even more dangerous than the last time they'd met in the military. His muscles were tense, his jaw clenched, and his gaze was so sharp it felt like it could cut through anyone who dared to meet it for too long. Adam couldn’t believe what he was seeing. All this time, he thought Damien was crippled. Turns out, it was all an act.Damien didn’t waste time. In one swift move, he grabbed Adam and slammed him onto the conference table. Adam barely had time to react before his arms were twisted behind his back and his face was pressed so hard against the wooden surface it felt like his skull might crack."Argh!
Chapter 56: Four Generals Want Me Dead
The Stratton Enterprises office was filled with a suffocating silence. Some employees held their breath, while others moved nervously, trying to distance themselves from the brewing tension. Adam Saxon glared at Adrian Stratton with pure contempt.Adrian, still staggering from Damien’s earlier slap, rubbed his throbbing cheek. His gaze was empty, as if he had accepted his fate as a weak man who could only stand there without fighting back. Seeing that, Adam felt even more disgusted."Pathetic," Adam muttered, barely caring whether Adrian heard him or not.But his focus quickly shifted to Damien—the man who should've been dead years ago. Yet here he was, alive and breathing, and strong enough to land a brutal slap on Adrian. The fact that Damien was still around made Adam burn with frustration.He hadn't come here just to confirm that the War God was still alive. He had a mission. A mission to make sure Damien never spoke about the past. The four generals who had paid him to betray Dam
